Door lock



April 12 1955 J. H. ROETHEL 2,706,130

DooR Loox' Filed Jan. 2, 1951 IN V EN TOR.

Unite States DOGR LOCK Application January 2, 1951, Serial No. 203,876

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-280) This invention relates to a latch mechanism for swinging doors, particularly the doors of automobile or other vehicle bodies, an object of the invention being to provide an improved door latch mechanism which is characterized by its simplicity and compactness in construction and which is relatively small in size, economical to manufacture, comparatively quiet in operation and efficient in use.

More particularly the present invention is embodied in an improved door latch mechanism having a rotatable latch member, a pivoted detent or dog cooperable therewith, and pivotally shiftable detent release means mounted on a supporting plate or the like at the free edge wall of the door, the detent release means being operable from the outside of the door and being rendered inoperative to release or disengage the detent by means of a movable blocking member mounted preferably on the ange extending angularly from the inner edge of the supporting plate, said blocking member being movable into and out of blocking relation to the release means by means manually operable from the inside of the door or by a key operated device operable from the outside of the door. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for transmitting turning movement of the key operated device to the blocking member to move the latter into and out of blocking relation to the detent re* lease means, the improved transmitting means being characterized by its resistance to torsional deflection and by the fact that the part thereof which overlaps the supporting plate does not increase the eiective cross-sectional thickness of the latch mechanism, said effective crosssectional thickness being measured in a plane normal to the plane of the supporting plate and being determined not only by the thickness of the various latch mechanism parts mounted on the supporting plate but also by the clearance required to permit unobstructed movement of said parts. All portions of the aforesaid part of the improved transmission means in any position of its range of movement lie between the plane of the supporting plate and a plane parallel thereto and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the length or thickness of the latch mechanism part having the longest dimension measured in a direction normal to the plane of the supporting plate, which part in the illustrated embodiments of the invention is the stud which pivotally retains the detent and the detent release means on the supporting plate.

The present invention is also concerned with a problem which results from the current trend in vehicle door design wherein the lower half of the door must blend with uninterrupted lines into the body contours of the vehicle. As a result, the cross-sectional thickness of the door, i. e., the distance between the inner and outer panels, is generally much greater than is actually needed to provide mounting space for the usual appurtenances found within the door frame such as a door latch mechanism, a window regulator, and guide channels for the window pane. The latch mechanism is generally mounted on a free edge wall of the door near the inner door panel thus creating a substantial gap between the outside operator mounted on the outside door panel, which operator is frequently a push button means or a pull out handle means, and the detent means which is engageable with the latch device, which gap must be bridged by the detent release means. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved detent release means for bridging the gap between the outside operator and detent, said imice proved detent release means having one arm pivotally mounted on the supporting plate of the latch mechanism and a second arm pivotally connected to said one arm and having at one end a part adapted to be contacted by the outside operator. The advantage of the foregoing jointed construction of the detent release means is that the trajectory of the free or outside operator contact end of the second arm is not determined by the distance said free end is from the supporting plate pivot axis of the detent release means, but is determined primarily by the effective length of the arm pivotally mounted on the supporting plate, which effective length is equal to the distance between the supporting plate pivot axis and the pivot axis of the connection between the two arms. By minimizing the trajectory of the free end of the detent release means it is possible to reduce the effective area in which the latch mechanism must be mounted to provide for unobstructed movement of all the movable parts thereof.

Further details, advantages, and objects of the particular embodiments of the invention herein illustrated will appear in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation taken substantially through lines 1-1 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating a door lock constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially through lines 2 2 of Fig. l looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially through lines 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in part similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a door lock constructed in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangements of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

In the drawings there is illustrated, by way of example, particular embodiments of the present invention as applied to the doors and frame structures of an automobile body. The latch device in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. l to 4, inclusive, comprises a case plate 10 provided with screw bosses 10a by means of which the case plate is secured to the inner side of the jamb portion of a vehicle door. The case plate 10 terminates at its inner edge in a flange 11 which is adapted to be positioned along the inner panel of the door. The latch device is preferably provided with a rotatable toothed latch or bolt 12 positioned at the outer side of the case plate 10, this latch or bolt having an integral projecting shaft or shank 13 extending through an aperture in the case plate which is formed with a bearing for the bolt shank. The inner end of the shank 13 of the bolt is flattened and extends through a correspondingly shaped aperture in a rotatable toothed detent engaging member or ratchet 14 and is riveted thereto.

The rotatable latch 12, as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, is formed with a number of radially projecting tooth-like projections 12a, preferably six, which are spaced equally around the periphery of the latch so as to provide in etect gear type latch or bolt. The toothed latch member 14 is also formed around its periphery with a number of tooth-like abutments or projections 14a which correspond in number to the tooth-like projections 12a of the latch bolt.

Pivotally mounted on a shoulder rivet 15 secured to the case plate 10 is a swinging detent, dog, or pawl 16 which has a downwardly projecting detent arm 17 co operable with any one of the projections 14a of the ratchet member 14 in the manner shown in Fig. 2 to hold' the ratchet member and, hence, the bolt 12 in locking position against rotation in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. The detent 16 is also provided with an upwardly projecting arrn 13 and also an inwardly extending arm or extension 19. Thus, the detent in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and also the embodiment shown in Fig. is provided with three arms 17, 13, and 19 and is preferably formed from a piece of flat metal stock.

In the present embodiment of the invention there is shown associated with the detent a detent actuating or detent release means, generally designated 20. The detent actuating or release means 20 comprises a lever or arm 21 pivoted at its lower end on the shoulder rivet so as to turn or swing about the axis of the detent 16. The lever or arm 21 has an outwardly extending portion 22 to which a second arm 23 is pivotally mounted at 24 intermediate its ends. The outwardly extending end 25 of the arm 23 is positioned for engagement by a plunger or the like 9 which may be shifted inwardly to move the arm 23 in a generally lateral direction while swinging the lever or arm 21 about its pivot 15 toward the flange 11 of the case plate 10. Any suitable manually operable means on the outside of the door such, for example, as a pullout handle or any other preferred means such as a push button associated with an outside door handle may be used to shift the arm 23 inwardly. The inwardly extending end 26 of the arm 23 terminates in a lateral liange or lug 27 positioned to engage the upwardly extending arm 18 of the detent. As the arm 23 is shifted inwardly by the manually operable means on the outside of the door, the ange or lug 27 will abut the detent arm 18 and pivotally actuate the latter in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 thereby disengaging the detent arm 17 from the ratchet 14 and thus permit the latch bolt to become freely rotatable.

It will be noted that the lever or arm 21 overlaps the inwardly extending end 26 of the arm 23 and that the ange or lug 27 projects in a direction away from the support plate and extends partially through an aperture 28 in the lever 21. The pivotal movement of the arm 23 is limited by the distance the lug 27 is movable Within the aperture 28 thus ensuring that the free or outwardly extending end 25 of the arm 23 will not drop below a position in which it is engageable by the outer manually operable means, such as the push button associated with the outside door handle.

The jointed construction of the detent actuating or release means is especially advantageous when the latch mechanism embodied in the present invention is used in a vehicle door having extraordinary cross-sectional thickness. The latch mechanism is generally mounted near the inner door panel and the detent actuating means must bridge the gap between the outside operator and the detent in order to translate movement of the former to disengage the latter from the ratchet to permit the door to be opened. The inward travel of the outside operator, especially in the case of a pullout handle or a push button means is generally limited to a nominal dimension, seldom exceeding one-half inch of travel. ln the case of a pivoted detent actuator or release means, the free end thereof must remain in contact with the outside operated means for the full travel of the latter to ensure complete disengagement of the detent from the ratchet. When the gap between the outside operated means and the detent is great, as occurs in a door having extraordinary cross-sectional thickness, the length of the detent release means in terms of the distance between the pivot axis and the free end thereof becomes critical when the detent release member is a one piece member. It will be readily understood that in the case of a one piece detent release member the greater the distance between the pivot axis and the free end thereof the further the free end travels circumferentially to move a predetermined angular distance In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. l to 4, inclusive, the distance between the free end of the detent release means and the pivot axis thereof is relatively so great that if the detent release means were a one piece member the vertical rise of the free end would carry it out of contact with the outside operator before the latter had traveled inwardly the necessary distance required to disengage the detent completely from the ratchet.

The jointed construction of the detent release means of the present invention ensures that the free end of the arm 23 will remain in contact with the outside operated means for the full inward travel of the latter. It will be noticed that the pivot 24 is located on the lever 23 at a point where its vertical rise is at a minimum as the lever 21 is swung about its pivot axis 16. Thus, the arm 23 will be lifted vertically only a relatively short distance. The movement of the arm 23 may be defined as a substantially horizontally bodily slliiftable movement toward the ange 11 of the case p ate.

The detent 16 is yieldingly urged toward the ange 11 and the detent release lever 20 is urged outwardly toward its retracted position shown in Fig. 2 by means of a common spring 29. This spring has an upwardly extending arm 29a engaging the detent arm 17 and has a lower spirally wound coiled portion 2912 secured at 30 to the case plate 10. lt will be noted that the effort exerted by the spring 29 in urging the detent arm 17 into engagement with the ratchet member 14, as shown in Fig. 2, will also be transmitted through the lug 27 to the detent release means 20, thereby urging the latter to its retracted position. The final retracted position of the detent release means 20 is determined by a stop 10b in the form of a lug struck up from the upper edge of the case plate 10 and positioned to engage a portion 21a of the arm 21. The detent release means lever arm 21 has a further portion 2lb overlapping a portion of the detent arm 17 and projecting outwardly therefrom a distance sufficient to overlap the spring arm 29a, thus ensuring that the spring arm 29a is retained in engagement with the detent arm 17. The detent release means lever 21, for a purpose hereinafter described, also has an arm or extension 31 projecting in the direction of the case plate flange 11.

The latch device constructed in accordance with the present embodiment of the invention preferably incorporates a remote control mechanism for permitting release or disengagement of the detent 16 by operation of an inside door handle or other manually operable means. This mechanism is preferably manually actuated from the inside of the door remote from the case plate 10 by means of a door handle which may be turned in the desired direction. A bell crank lever 32 is pivoted at 33 to the case plate ange 11, see Fig. 1. The lower end of one arm 34 of the bell crank lever 32 is adapted to be connected by means of longitudinally extending draft link (not shown) to the inside door handle. The second arm 35 of the bell crank lever projects toward the case plate ange 11 and overlies at its outer end the detent arm 19. Normally, when the inside door handle is turned so as to swing the lever arm 35 downwardly, the latter by engagement with the detent arm 19 will swing the detent 16 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 thus swinging the detent arm 17 upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 so as to disengage it from the member 14. A similar action occurs when the release lever means 20 is swung inwardly by operation of the outside door handle, push button or the like, the motion of the release lever means being transmitted to the detent through the lug 27.

In the present embodiment means is provided for rendering the detent release lever means 20 inoperative to disengage the detent 16, such as by blocking the same, so that the door cannot be opened from the outside. This is accomplished through the medium of a plural arm or multi-arm lever 36 mounted on the case plate flange 11 on the same pivot stud 33 on which the bell crank lever 31 is mounted. The multi-arm lever 36 has one of its arms, the arm 37, positioned above the pivotal axis 33 and extending in a generally horizontal direction toward the case plate 10. The arm 37 lies above the arm 35 of the remote control bell crank lever 32 and has a portion 37a embossed outwardly from the case plate flange 11, which embossed portion 37a can be positioned between the extension 31 of the arm 21 and the case plate flange 11 so as to block inward movement of the detent release means 20 and thereby render the latter ineffective to disengage the detent arm 17 from the ratchet 14. The embossed portion 37a of the arm 37 terminates in a lug 37b turned toward the case plate flange 11 and engageable therewith, as shown in Fig. 2, to prevent bending of the embossed portion 37a under pressure of the release lever extension 31.

The lever 36 has a second arm 38 which extends downwardly from the pivotal axis 33 and which is bifurcated on its end to provide prongs 38a and 38b. The bifurcated end of the arm 38 is operatively engaged between the prongs 38a and 38b by an upstanding lug 39a on the end of a swinging crank arm 39 The swinging crank arm 39 is a part of an improved transmission means for transmitting turning movement of a key operated device mounted in the outer panel of the door to the blocking lever 36. Because of the current trend to narrow door frame structures to provide greater window area, it has become increasingly important that the effective cross-sectional thickness of the latch mechanism measured in a plane normal to the plane of the supporting plate be held to an absolute minimum commensurate with an inexpensive and an eicient latch mechanism design. The effective cross-sectional thickness of the latch mechanism is determined not only by the thickness of the various latch mechanism parts but also by the clearances required to permit unobstructed movement of said parts. In the present embodiment of the latch mechanism the effective cross-sectional thickness is determined by the length of the pivot stud 15, since its top surface is furthest away from the side of the supporting plate mounted adjacent the inner surface of the free edge wall of the door. Therefore, it is desirable that no part of the means for transmitting turning movement of the key operated device to the blocking lever 32 in any position of the range of movement of the transmitting means project above the top surface of the pivot stud 15. The foregoing, of course, is limited to the area above the supporting plate and does not apply to the flange edge or the edge opposite thereto.

In Fig. 4, the pivot stud 15 is shown in dotted outline to show its length measured in a plane normal to the plane of the supporting plate. The line A represents the centerline of the shaft 40 of the key operated device, a fragmentary portion of which is shown in dotted outline. It is readily apparent from Fig. 4 that if the shaft 40 were extended directly across the supporting plate to the flange 11, for connection to the crank arm 39, a portion thereof would project further from the supporting plate than the top surface of the pivot stud 15, thus increasing the effective cross-sectional thickness of the latch mechanisrn.`

The improved transmission means of the present invention avoids increasing the cross-sectional thickness of the latch mechanism in that it interposes between the shaft 4t) and the crank arm 39 a yoke or U-shaped member 41 pivoted at one end 41a by means of a pivot stud 42 to the case plate flange 11 and at its other end 41b to a flange portion 43 projecting from the surface of the plate 10 in a direction parallel to the case plate flange 11. A tubular rivet 44 having an aperture shaped to receive the end of the key operated device shaft 40 is utilized to pivotally fasten the end 41b of the U-shaped member 41 to the ange portion 43. As shown in Fig. 1, the end 41a of the U-shaped member 41 and the crank arm 39 are preferably integral permitting the unit to be made out of a one piece stamping. As clearly appears in Fig. l, the longitudinal portion of the member 41 is preferably arcuate to increase the resistance to torsional deflection.

By turning the key in the key operated device, the crank arm 39 may be swung to shift the multi-arm lever 36 in one direction or the other either to shift the arm 37 so that the embossed portion 37a thereof will be in opposing relation to the projection 31 or to restore the arm 37 to its normal position, as shown in Fig. l. The space between the two prongs 38a and 38h of the bifurcated end of the lever arm 38 is substantially greater than the thickness of the upstanding lug 39a on the crank arm 39, thus providing sufcient lost motion so that the key after having been used to shift the multi-armed lever in one direction or the other can be returned to a neutral position in the key cylinder and extracted therefrom.

The multi-armed lever 36, in addition to being pivotally movable from the outside of the door to place the arm 37 thereof in blocking relation to the detent release means 20, is also pivotally movable from the inside of the door to accomplish the same result. It has been previously stated that the arm 37 overlies the arm 35 of the remote control bell crank lever 32. The two arms are swingable in a common plane. Therefore, if the remote control handle on the inside of the door is turned in a direction to raise the arm 35 of the bell crank lever 32 when the arms 35 and 37 are in the relationship shown in Fig. 1, the arm 35 will abut and raise the arm 37 to the limit allowed by the stop 45, which is in the form of a lug lanced outwardly from the surface of the flange 11. The embossed portion 37a of the arm 37 will then be in position to block the detent release means 20.

The multi-armed lever 36 is provided with an arm 46 projecting toward the plate 10, which, when the arm 37 is in position to block the detent release means 20, will immediately underlie the detent arm 19. The relationship of the arm 46 to the detent arm 19 when the arm 37 is in blocking relation to the detent release means 20 is utilized in two ways. First, it is used to restore the parts of the latch mechanism to unblocked position automatically upon egress of a person through the door in the event that the parts had been placed in blocked position. Upon actuation of the inside door handle to permit opening movement of the door, the bell crank lever arm 35 will be depressed and in turn will depress the detent arm 19 and swing the arm 17 of the detent out of engagement with the ratchet 14. The downward movement of the detent arm 19 will cause the same to engage the lever arm 46 and swing the lever 36 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. l, thereby swinging the arm 37 downwardly and out of blocking relation to the detent release means 20.

The second manner in which the relationship of the detent arm 19 and the arm 46 is utilizable occurs when the arm 37 has been inadvertently moved into blocking relation to the detent release means 20 when the door is in an open position. The relationship of the arm 46 and the detent arm 19 in this case provides a means for automatically restoring the parts to unblocked position upon the door being moved to a closed position. As the door is moved to a closed position the ratchet 14 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. The amming action of the detent projections 14a will result 1n the detent 16 being pivoted about its axis causing the arm 19 to move downwardly. In its downward movement the arm 19 will engage the arm 46, thereby pivoting the lever 36 and moving the arm 37 out of blocking relation to the detent release means 20.

The multi-arm lever 36 is yieldingly held and urged toward its upper and lower limits of movement by means of a snap-over or toggle spring 47 of suitable strength attached at one end to the lever and at its opposite end to the case plate flange 11.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5 is concerned with a modification of the detent release means 20, all other parts of the latch mechanism being identical to the previously described embodiment and being identified with like reference numerals.

In the present embodiment, the detent release means, herein designated 50, comprises an arm 51 pivotally mounted on the pivot stud 15. The arm 51 has a lug 52 lanced inwardly toward the plate 10 which lug is adapted to engage the arm 18 of the detent 16 to transmit pivotal movement of the arm 51 to the detent to disengage the latter from the ratchet. Pivotally mounted at 53 to an extension 54 of the arm 51 is a second arm 55 having a ange portion 55a adapted to be engaged by an outside operator in the same manner as described with respect to the arm 23 of the detent release means 20 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. The extension 54- of the arm 51 is notched as at 54a to accommodate a lug 56 lanced out of the arm 55. The relationship of the lug 56 and the notch 54a is such as to permit limited pivotal movement of the arm 55 without permitting it to drop below a point at which engagement with the outside operator would become impossible.

Both of the embodiments herein illustrated provide an eficient means of bridging the gap between the outside operator and the detent. It is only necessary to change the length of the arm 23 or the arm 55 to accommodate doors of any cross-sectional thickness. Regardless of the length of the arm 23 or the arm 55, the trajectory of the free end of the detent release means will be unchanged once the distance between the pivot axis of the detent release means and the pivot of the two detent release means arms is determined. To accommodate doors of different widths, it becomes unnecessary to redesign the basic latch mechanism, since it is necessary only to incorporate a detent release arm 23 or 55 of the required length to ensure that the gap between the outside operator and the detent is bridged.

I claim:

1. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plate portion for disposition at the door jamb and having a flange extending from the inner edge of said plate portion, a rotatable latch device mounted on said plate portion, detent means pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said plate portion comprising a unitary member having a plurality of arms, one of said arms extending in one direction from the pivot axis of the detent means and engageable with said latch device for holding the same in door latching position and a second one of said arms extending in an opposite direction from said pivot axis, and swinging detent release means mounted on said plate portion, said detent release means comprising a irst arm having a common pivot with said detent means and a second arm pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the first arm, said first arm having a blocking portion, outer manually operable means engageable with one end of said detent release means second arm for shifting the detent release means toward said iiange, the other end of said detent release means second arm having a part thereof positioned to abut a part of said second one of the detent arms upon the detent release means being shifted toward the ange to thereby swing the detent means and disengage the same from said latch device, blocking means movable into abutting relation to said blocking portion to block swinging movement of said outer manually operable means and render the same ineffective to disengage said detent means from the latch device, and inner manually operable means for moving said blocking means.

2. In a doorlatch mechanism for a swinging door, a support comprising a plate portion for disposition at the free edge wall of the door and having a ange extending from the inner edge thereof, a rotatable latch device mounted on said plate portion, detent means pivotally mounted on said plate portion and engageable with said latch device for holding the same in latching position, detent release means engageable with said detent means to disengage the same from said latch device comprising a lever arm having a blocking portion pivotally mounted on said plate portion and a second arm pivotally mounted on said lever arm, said second arm having a part disposed in opposing relation to'a part of said detent means, outer manually operable means engageable with one end of said second arm to shift the same bodily in a substantially horizontal direction causing said parts to abut and thereby pivotally actuate the detent means to disengage the same from said latch device, said movement of the second arm causing said lever arm to swing toward said flange, blocking means movably mounted on said ange and shiftable into opposing relation to said blocking portion thereby to render said outer manually operable means inelective to swing said detent release means, and manually operable means for shifting said blocking means into or out of blocking position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,902,172 Lambert Mar. 21, 1933 2,017,244 Gudmundsen Oct. 15, 1935 2,301,221 Marple Nov. 10, 1942 2,329,120 King Sept. 7, 1943 2,362,256 Endter Nov. 7, 1944 2,480,688 Allen Aug. 30, 1949 2,552,815 Roethel May 15, 1951 2,557,468 Roethel June 19, 1951 2,581,838 Dingman Ian. 8, 1952 2,604,345 Roethel July 22, 1952 

